


The First Date

by JewishDavidJacobs



Series: A New Beginning [2]
Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:20:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24547528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JewishDavidJacobs/pseuds/JewishDavidJacobs
Summary: David was incredibly nervous. This wasn’t an altogether unusual occurrence, but it certainly wasn’t fun either. He had his first date with Katherine tonight and he was starting to realize that dating one of richest heiresses in the country might be more difficult than he had originally thought.
Relationships: David Jacobs & Sarah Jacobs, David Jacobs/Katherine Plumber
Series: A New Beginning [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1769605
Comments: 8
Kudos: 18





	The First Date

David was incredibly nervous. This wasn’t an all together unusual occurrence, but it certainly wasn’t fun either. He had his first date with Katherine tonight - his first  _ real  _ date with her, at least. Technically they had gone out to Jacobi’s on the day the strike ended but there were about twenty other newsies there too, so it didn’t count. 

That had been three weeks ago, and David had only seen her two times since. Katherine was very busy with work, what with her promotion, and didn’t have a lot of spare time. David understood and didn’t mind. He still got to see her last Friday night at the lodging house with the boys and a week earlier when she dropped by his selling spot after she did an interview nearby.

Plus, now he could afford to take her on a real date. He had been saving for all three of those weeks and he had just enough to take her out for a meal. It wouldn’t be as nice as she was used to, but it was something. 

When he had been freaking out about it to Jack, he had suggested that he take her to Jacobi’s. It made sense, but he wanted to impress her (or at the very least, not embarrass himself). He found a little restaurant that was far enough from his home that she wouldn’t know which neighborhood he lived in and far enough from hers that he could afford it. 

If he didn’t eat much, he could get her what she wanted. He just hoped she wouldn’t notice and insist he get something else. 

“David, you’re going to be okay.”

David startled and looked up from where he was tying his tie while sitting on the family’s bed. Well, more accurately, he was  _ attempting _ to tie it but was having trouble focusing. Sarah smiled at him. “Let me help you.” She moved his hands gently away and took over. “Did you hear me? You’re going to be okay.” 

David nodded shakily.

“Yeah, I know. I’m just stressed.”

“Well, it’s your first date - it makes sense that you’d be stressed.”

“It’s just…she’s so…”

“She’s so what?” He shrugged, unable to describe what he meant. Sarah smiled. “If she likes you half as much as you like her, you’re fine.” 

“I guess. But…you know her father is one of the thirty richest people in America?”

“Yeah, but that’s okay. She’s not like that, right?”

“What? No, she doesn’t care but…”

“Are you embarrassed?” Sarah didn’t sound accusatory or annoyed, but genuinely curious. He appreciated how she never rushed to judgement when it came to him, and never made him feel like he had to hide what he was feeling.

“Kinda? I don’t know. I’ve never been ashamed of being poor or anything but most of the people I know are poor and I don’t like the people at my school anyway, so it never made a difference.” 

“But now it does because you like her.”

“Right.” 

Sarah finished tying his tie and smoothed out his shirt. 

“There. You look very handsome, boychik.” 

“Thanks. It’s what I was wearing when I met her but…” David shrugged as if to say  _ “what are you gonna do?” _

“Well, that doesn’t matter. It’s been months, I’m sure she doesn’t remember. Do you remember what she was wearing when you first saw her?”

“A striped shirt with puffed sleeves and a magenta dress,” he replied without hesitation. Sarah laughed and pulled him into a hug. 

“Go and have a great time. I know there’s no point in telling you not to worry but try to relax a little, okay? Enjoy yourself.”

“I will.” He nodded into her shoulder. “I love you, Sarah.”

“I love you too, neshama.”

David met Katherine in front of her office. He was five minutes early but still nervous that he was too late and she had left without him. Maybe she decided she wasn’t interested and he had just been too stupid to take the hint. After all, two times in three weeks wasn’t a lot.

“David, hi.” He turned and when he saw her, he almost froze. She was so beautiful. She wasn’t dressed any differently than she normally was but he could never prepare himself for how striking she looked in person. He was suddenly very conscious of the old vest and threadbare shirt he had on and that his shoes were about to fall apart.

“Hi. You look-” David had to clear his throat to be able to continue. “You look lovely.” 

Katherine smiled at him. 

“Thank you. So do you.” He felt himself blush and she chuckled.

“Thanks. Can I, uh, take your bag for you?” On separate occasions, several other newies and his father had sat down with him and told him how to behave on dates. It had been annoying with his friends and excruciating with his father, but he appreciated the advice. He probably would have offered to carry her bag anyway, but a reminder hadn’t hurt. 

“That’s okay, I can take it. Where are we going?”

“Umm, there’s a little place closer to me? If that’s okay? I…unless you had something else in mind.” Please, God, say she didn’t. 

“That sounds great. Lead the way.”

He offered her his arm and she took it. David had been told that would be too forward for a first date but before they had even talked about seeing each other, she had insisted on holding his arm and he didn’t mind one bit.

He asked Katherine about her day and listened as she told him about the story she was working on. David tried to make comments to show he was listening - and he was, truly - but he was also incredibly anxious and he knew that it was showing.

“David,” Katherine said, interrupting herself in the middle of her story, “you don’t have to be so worried.”

He blushed again.

“Right, sorry. I’m just…sorry.” He looked away from her, embarrassed. 

“Don’t be sorry. I just want you to be able to relax. I’m out with you because I  _ like  _ you, David, so there’s nothing to be worried about.”

“I know that logically…I thought that maybe you were just trying to be kind and that you only thought you were interested in me when we were caught up in all the emotion of the strike.”

“Is that what happened to you?” she asked. “Are you not interested in me anymore?”

“What? No! I mean, yes, I’m still interested in you!” David rushed to assure her.

“Then why would you think I wouldn’t be? I know I’ve been busy these last few weeks and-”

“No, it isn’t that. I’m sorry, it’s just nerves.” 

Katherine rubbed his arm. 

“Let’s just have fun, okay?”

“Okay.”

He made sure to hold the door for her and pull out her chair as they sat down. He tried not to be too anxious when they ordered. They received odd looks from several patrons but in all fairness, they were a rather bizarre looking couple. It was obvious that she was rich and it was obvious that he was  _ not.  _ Katherine either didn’t see them or chose to ignore them.

“How’s your father?” 

“He’s all right. He gets a little better each day.”

“Will he go back to work soon?” 

David shook his head regretfully. 

“It’s unlikely. He says that he’ll be well enough soon but we all know he’s lying.”

Katherine frowned. 

“Why would he do that?” 

“I think he feels bad that he can’t send my siblings and me back to school.” David noticed that she looked a little uncomfortable so he tried to lighten the mood. “Sarah says the real shame is that when we go back she won’t be able to see the cute boy she works with anymore.”

“Are they together?” 

“No, she doesn’t actually like him, she just thinks he’s cute physically. She’d only be disappointed because he’s a know it all and she always proves him wrong about whatever he’s talking about. She ends up embarrassing him when he tries to flirt with girls who clearly aren’t interested by using his smarts or whatever.”

Katherine chuckled. 

“I’ve got to meet her again.”

“Yeah, you’d like her. How’s  _ your  _ father?” 

“Charming as ever.” She rolled her eyes. “Last night he spent twenty minutes lecturing my twenty year old brother about the rules of courtship and he’s literally engaged!” 

David swallowed a lump in his throat. Somehow it had slipped his mind that seeing Katherine would also mean needing to gain the approval of Joseph Pulitzer. Katherine must have noticed his uneasiness.

“Oh, David, I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“You didn’t,” he lied. 

“He’s really not all that difficult to please.”

“I’m Jack Kelly’s friend and I yelled at him in his own office less than a month ago,” he countered. Katherine shrugged. 

“You don’t have to worry about that yet, okay? I’m not going to pressure you to go any faster than you want to.”

“You’re not! I just get preemptively concerned.”

“I know you do,” she said with a soft smile.

When the check came David was relieved to find out that he had just enough money to pay for it and leave a tip. Katherine seemed not to notice his anxiety and for that he was thankful. As they left, he held the door for her again.

“Can I walk you home?” he asked quietly, trying not to sound as nervous as he was. 

“I would love that.” 

“Great.” He offered her his arm and she took it. David found himself becoming gradually more comfortable as they walked and chatted. It felt more like it had during the strike (minus all the stress) in that their conversation was friendly and teasing. They spoke about politics but they both ended up getting frustrated (they were on the same side, but politics was exhausting to talk about at times) so they moved on quickly. 

When they got closer to Katherine’s house, David felt his anxiety rising again. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Your father.”

“What about him?”

“Will he be home tonight? Will…will I see him at the door?”

Katherine laughed. 

“No, don’t worry. He’s probably still at the office and either way, I can’t imagine he’d open the door. You might have to put up with a brother or a butler though.”

“How old are your brothers again?”

“The youngest is four, the oldest is twenty. Don’t worry, though, they’re kind. It’s really the butler that would give you a hard time.”

“Why?”

“He’s traditional.”

“Is traditional a code word for mean?”

“Maybe.” David groaned. “You’ll be fine, David.” 

He wasn’t so sure.

Katherine pointed out her house and David almost lost his dinner. Her house was bigger than David’s entire building - much bigger. It was also a lot nicer. He had never cared about those sorts of things - luxury, or money, or social status - but now that he was seeing one of the richest heiresses in the country, he realized that even if Katherine didn’t care that he was poor, other people definitely would. 

They stopped in front of her door. 

“David? Are you all right?” 

“What? Yes, sorry, I’m fine. Can I ask you…well, this was…I don’t-”

“David,” she said with a small laugh, “you can ask me whatever you want.”

“Right. I had a really nice time with you. Would you like to maybe do it again sometime?” He awkwardly waited for an answer but before she could give one the door swung open.

“Katherine?”

The man in the entryway was, David assumed, Katherine’s older brother. He was in a suit and David wasn’t sure if that was because he had just gotten home or if that’s what rich people wore around the house. He was a little shorter than David, but that didn’t make him any less intimidating. 

David could definitely see a resemblance to Katherine. He had reddish brown hair and a similar facial structure. Unfortunately, he could also see a resemblance to Pulitzer. It only served to make him more uncomfortable.

“Ralph, hey. David this is my brother Ralph, Ralph this is David Jacobs. He was one of the leaders of the newsies strike this summer.”

David hoped Katherine knew what she was doing because that wasn’t exactly the first thing he wanted a Pulitzer to know about him.

Ralph stuck out his hand and David shook it.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, David.”

“You as well, Mr. Pulitzer.”

“Please, call me Ralph. Kitty, are you coming inside?” 

“Yeah, just give me a minute.” Ralph didn’t move. Katherine glared at him. “Ralph.” He threw his hands up defensively and shut the door. She rolled her eyes. 

“Kitty?” David teased. 

“Shut up. I’m sure your family has an embarrassing nickname for you.” 

“Several, but fortunately for me they’re in languages you don’t speak.” He gave her a small smile but turned more solemn. “Look, Katherine, if you don’t want to-”

“Of course I do.” 

David stared at her blankly. 

“Really?” 

“Yes, David, really. Thank you for tonight. I had a lot of fun.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. He stood dumbfounded. “Good night, David.”

“G-good night.” As she opened the door he shook himself out of it. “Wait. When can I see you again?” 

She smiled and pushed the door open. 

“Whenever you’d like.” 

It took him twice as long to get home as it should have. He kept getting distracted and lost, thinking about her lips on his cheek and the smell of her perfume.


End file.
